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News article from United Press International discussing Jay Zagorsky's research. Divorce reduces a person's wealth by 77 percent while being married nearly doubles it, Ohio State University researchers said Wednesday. "Divorce causes a decrease in wealth that is larger than just splitting a couple's assets in half," said lead researcher Jay Zagorsky. Couples' wealth bottoms out four years before they divorce, concluded the study of 9,055 couples taking part in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. "Some people may also be working less and not trying as hard to build wealth as they have marriage troubles," Zagorsky said. "Divorce is often a long and messy process." After divorce, the typical man had 2.5 times the wealth of the typical woman. While that may seem large, he said, the difference in dollars is a relatively small $5,100. "We can't tell from these data the reasons why divorced people have so much less wealth than those who are married," Zagorsky said. "If you really want to increase your wealth, get married and stay married." The study was published in the Journal of Sociology. Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved